Organizations Unlimited is a leadership development consultancy focused on helping great scientists and engineers become great leaders.
Through consulting, coaching, and training, Organizations Unlimited supports technical leaders and organizations to develop the “soft skills” of leadership, empowering them with the tools and confidence they need to lead authentically and successfully.
Our philosophy:
- All people are magnificent, and there are no exceptions
- Leaders are made, not born; there is no “one size fits all” method or technique to developing your authentic leadership style
- Leaders are most effective when they work from abundance mindset. Scarce attitudes about time, talent, and ideas stifle creativity and innovation.
- People need to be acknowledged and appreciated to be energized and bring their full potential to work
- Feedback is a gift
What results can our clients expect after working with us?
- Increased self-awareness and self-confidence
- Willingness to invest in people and relationships: renewed ability to listen deeply, seek understanding and find win-win solutions
- Ability to constructively handle conflict
- Ability to enroll others in their ideas and solutions, including teammates, cross-functional colleagues and customers
Getting the job done in business is only half the battle; getting the job done with energized, collaborative, innovative, happy people is the other half. That other half is our business. Many companies get by in a survival mode that neglects or ignores the human element and generates mediocre (but often adequate) results. But when the workplace is a genuinely fulfilling aspect of an individual’s life, the amount and quality of that person’s work expands. With a whole company of people like that, there are few limits to what can be accomplished.
For over 25 years, we’ve facilitated leadership development, teambuilding, and culture change workshops for PhD scientists, engineers, and other technical leaders. Click on the icons to read more detail about each type of workshop. We also build custom designed programs for clients based on their leadership development goals, teambuilding needs, and the culture they want to build in their organizations.
“The unique combination of classroom sessions and role playing exercises, which introduce and reinforce key concepts, with individualized 360 feedback and personalized coaching has changed the performance and even the lives of our key leaders in so many ways. Their increased willingness to take risks, to step up to difficult conversations and find ‘win-win’ solutions and, especially, to their underlying development of deeper, more generous working relationships have all been typical responses of our “graduates’ to this course. Moreover, the introspective nature of the coursework and mentoring has typically reached people at a much deeper, more fundamentally personal level than traditional ‘management courses’ ever approach and has inspired so many of them be their best when working with others. The resulting growth in self-confidence and improvement in working relationships has been marked, and the impact of these combined elements on the development and implementation of strategic thinking and on execution has been transformational for the individuals and the organizations they serve.” — Henry E. Bryndza, Global Technology Director, DuPont Performance Materials
Leadership Development Workshops
Leadership Development Workshops
Our leadership development programs are not primarily about adding skills or acquiring tools; they are about applying more of your authentic self to your work and releasing the leadership power that is already part of your basic nature. We focus on how to become a leader who generates energy and commitment in others—not about learning a long list of all that the best leaders do in their finest hours and then trying to live up to that.
Workshops are designed specifically according to client need. For example our Technology Leadership Development Workshop, developed for DuPont, has provided training for over 2000 scientists and technology experts over the past 20+ years. A typical workshop includes:
- Multiple feedback instruments, including our own proprietary 360° report, ACUMEN Leadership WorkStyles, and a personality assessment such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or DiSC
- Instructional material, including course notebook and other reading material
- Full group and breakout discussions
- Collaborative learning in small teams
- Teambuilding exercises (held outdoors, weather permitting)
- Other learning and problem solving activities
The ideal number of participants is 18–24 and duration is typically 3–5 days.
Results
“This workshop changed me. I got crucial insights to help me get unstuck, to stop tripping over my own feet in areas where I had been blind. The key was the Acumen feedback, and the related flashes of insight I had during the outdoor activities and role plays. This experience crystallized the critical issues for me and illuminated the path I need to take.” — Kent Lineback, business writer, former VP/GM, NEBS
Team Building
Team Building
Organizations Unlimited’s teambuilding work focuses on helping people to see the potential and the greatness in each other and then applying that perspective to work more effectively together. From one-time offsite retreats for improving working relationships to a months- or years-long process of team learning and development, we work with clients to achieve an open, constructive team spirit that enables teams to be much more intelligent and effective together than they could be as individuals. A teambuilding session typically includes:
- sharing personality profiles (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator/DiSC)
- outdoor problem-solving activities
- exercises to clarify roles and responsibilities
- conflict-resolution tools and real-time conflict resolution
- “Open-Space” conversations to focus on current team challenges
- creating practical action plans
Results
“You helped a group of folks who were desperate for change, but among ourselves would not have been able to make that change, not without someone there to help us to articulate what we had inside. We did an entire pivot of our strategy and ended up crafting something that’s been absolutely the best direction we could have taken. We changed our company from one that was commodity oriented, functioning but not growing, not thriving, to one that’s now in the thick of a huge market, one that’s growing, emerging, with prospects of turning the value of the company from what would have been perfunctory to something that’s an exciting strategic enterprise. It’s still to be determined, but the possibilities for our company are bigger than they ever have been.” — Rich Baker, Founder/CTO, Glance Networks
Culture Change Interventions
Culture Change Interventions
Changing an organization’s culture takes time, great leadership, and coordinated effort. The process includes all of Organizations Unlimited’s other services plus consulting and strategizing with client leaders as the inevitable roadblocks emerge. We use the the Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI) to gather data on current cultural norms and to get clarity on shared ideal cultural norms. Our approach has helped generate real change for clients in the biopharma, high-tech manufacturing, agriculture, and financial services industries.
Results
“You should take great pride in your efforts to help transform us. The work we have done/are doing is paying off on so many different levels. I appreciate your contributions and effort very much and I’m grateful that you have not been just a teacher or outside consultant, but a real member of the team. There is no substitute for living and breathing this stuff through the really hard part, implementation. So tip your hat to yourself. And isn’t this fun!?!” — John Korte, Managing Director, Global External Supply, Pfizer
Margaret Moore and Paul Dredge have both coached hundreds of technical leaders to discover their strengths and build their capacity to lead. Here are a sample of comments from past coachees. You can read more about the coaching process by clicking on the icon below.
“Margaret’s coaching came at a critical time in my career. Participating in the leadership workshop allowed me the forum to be honest with myself, asking- What kind of leader do I want to be in the future? With a foundation of strengths realized from Acumen and co-worker feedback, it was comfortable and constructive to discuss my vulnerabilities/weaknesses, which may otherwise be a difficult conversation. Margaret’s ability to make me feel at ease and supported in this journey was critical. Even today, I think about the “Aha” moments from our conversations and how they have influenced me both personally and professionally.” –Lauren K. Markell, PhD, DABT, Senior Investigative Toxicologist, FMC Agricultural Solutions
“Paul has been a great coach who has truly transformed how I ‘play on the field’. He is a great listener with gentle but powerful suggestions — material to study, perspectives to consider, approaches to try — that have not just changed how I work but who I am as a leader. Paul’s experience and deep and personal engagement in coaching has been an amazing experience and has not only helped me to understand specific topics but also how to continuously learn about new approaches and perspectives to management and decision making.” — Jochen Scheel, Director, Data Science and Informatics, Corteva Agriscience
Leadership Coaching
Leadership Coaching
We offer one-on-one coaching for personal breakthroughs in leadership effectiveness. The essence of this work is helping clients discover their blind spots and acquire new, more successful perspectives and behaviors. The key to breakthroughs is deeper self-awareness; the process involves coaching conversations, peer interviews, real-time observation, and experimenting with new approaches.
What can you expect from coaching?
The coaching process is designed to give you the space to explore how you want to lead. As coaches, we support you to articulate and achieve your goals, solve problems, and make decisions. In our coaching conversations you will be free to explore your ideas, struggles and vision, building your awareness of yourself and others. We use questions to help guide our conversations and offer different perspectives to help you get past barriers in your way, whether external or self-imposed. Our role is to help you stick to your process and stated goals.
What we do as a coaches
- Listen to you intently and with curiosity
- Ask powerful questions
- Reflect back what I hear from you/see in you
- Offer alternative perspectives
- Provide structure and focus
- Hold you accountable for your stated goals
- Be honest
- Focus on you
- Be in your corner
What we do not do
- Do the work for you
- Judge you
- Take responsibility for you or your actions
- Give you legal or financial advice
- Be your therapist
Margaret Moore
Managing Partner and Principal
Margaret Moore has been a leadership development consultant and coach since 2006 and has worked with hundreds of scientists, engineers, and other technical professionals to improve their effectiveness as leaders. She loves to support her clients to understand their strengths, identify things getting in their way, and make changes to their leadership approach that are authentic to them as individuals. She holds an MBA in Organizational Studies from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College and received her professional coaching training from Coach U. Margaret began her career in symphony orchestra management, where she developed a passion for managing organizations in complex environments.
Outside of work, Margaret enjoys spending time with her amazing husband and kids, singing, conducting choirs, and performing with the New England Irish Harp Orchestra.
Paul Dredge
Founder and Partner
Paul Dredge is a consultant and trainer with over 20 years’ experience assisting individuals and business organizations in moving beyond their assumed limits. Trained as a cultural anthropologist (Ph.D., Harvard University) and experienced in working in other countries and cultures, he brings a unique, fresh approach to business organizational issues based on a broad understanding of what motivates and inspires people.
Maggie Thurber
Operations Manager
Maggie Thurber manages logistics for all Organizations Unlimited training workshops and consulting engagements. She earned a BA in Political Science from Brigham Young University. Her previous experience includes office management, sales, and running a successful short-term car rental business. Maggie has a passion for learning about human behavior and development. Currently, she is using her experience and education to buy investment properties in Maine.
We welcome the opportunity to discuss our services and your organization’s needs. Please use this contact form and we will respond within 24 hours.
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